The story of a museum and family residence

Family with a sense of beauty

The Mayer van den Bergh family was part of high society in the nineteenth century. Fritz was the eldest son of Henriëtte van den Bergh (1838-1920) and Emil Mayer (1824-1879). 

Henriëtte and Emil

Fritz's mother Henriëtte was from an influential Antwerp family. In 1857, she married Emil, a businessman from Cologne. The young couple bought the corner house at 21 Lange Gasthuisstraat, the so-called Hof van Arenberg. They had this city palace with central courtyard radically remodelled by architect Frans Bex. Entirely in the style of the prevailing fashion, the rooms were decorated - possibly - with fabric wallpaper, wood panelling in light colours, tall mirrors and French Rococo-style marble mantels. 

Surrounded by art

In 1862, when Fritz was just four years old, the young family moved into their new home. Fritz and his brother Oscar grew up there, surrounded by art. Artworks including the 'Wedding Dance' and the 'Adoration of the Magi' by Jan Brueghel the Elder, acquired by father Emil, hang on the walls. The works are still part of the collection today. Do they represent the start of Fritz's fascination with Bruegel?  

Oscar took over his father's business. Fritz could then devote himself entirely to his passion: collecting art. In barely a decade, he built a unique and diverse art collection. His dream to create a museum to house his collection, however, could not be realised. He died suddenly, after falling off his horse. Fritz was just 43 years old.  

Commitment from Henriëtte

His mother Henriëtte is in mourning, but does not hold back. As early as August 1901, only three months after Fritz's death, she received a permit for a new building. She had the house next to the family home (number 19) demolished, as well as part of the residence. That site then became the museum, a tribute to her late son. 

Henriëtte entrusted the design, including interiors, to architect Joseph Hertogs. 'The Three Kings' served as an example for the facade: the reconstruction of a sixteenth-century house that Henriëtte and Fritz had built for the 1894 World's Fair. 

Henriëtte put her stamp on the museum's interior design. She had original pieces from Fritz's collection (stained glass, fireplaces, panelling) integrated into the interior and came up with the idea of storing fragile collection pieces (drawings, textiles, coins) in special cabinets. The museum was inaugurated on 17 December 1904.   

Seperated and reunited

In 1904, the museum was not a public institution as it is today. Henriëtte usually received visitors personally in the family home. She led guests into the museum through a narrow gallery, now restored to its former glory.   

In 1906, she created a Board of Regents to ensure the continuation and survival of the museum and collection after her death. The city of Antwerp has co-managed the Museum Mayer van den Bergh since 1951.   

In 1964, the former home of the Mayer van den Bergh family was acquired by NV Spaarkrediet and converted into a bank building. Little remains of the interior, as provided by the Mayer van den Bergh family. Only a Louis XVI-style salon is preserved on the ground floor. The courtyard and a historic museum hall (the Great Gothic Hall) disappeared. The museum simultaneously acquired some rooms on the other side too, including the current Metsys and Micheli rooms. In 1998, the city of Antwerp purchased the corner building to house the district house for the Antwerp district.   

A lasting memento

In 2021, the Antwerp District House moved to Zaal Harmonie in Harmoniepark. Since then, the city palace has stood empty, ready for the next step: a reunion with the historic museum. A larger and updated Museum Mayer van den Bergh will reopen in 2029, as a lasting memento of Fritz and his impressive collecting talent. Just as Henriëtte envisioned 120 years ago.